I am a native New Yorker. One of those elitists. Well, sorta. I've spent my entire life in Brooklyn and Queens, and no one with a 212 area code would describe this proud "Outer Boro" type as elite, but if that's what makes McSame happy, fine, I am an elitist. Besides, in the eyes of many of his stuffed toy monkey waving supporters, I really am an elitist.
I graduated from a fancy school, work in the world of independent film, been a Kossack for close to 5 years, watch Stewart/Colbert religiously, and spend too many Friday nights in Mediterranean themed cafes to ever step foot in a Starbucks, let alone a Dunkin Donuts, so yeah, I am an elitist.
Working on indie films means I bounce around from project to project. The money and contacts made over the years were OK enough for me to produce two separate short films of my own, although, right now I'm currently broke and my Health Care (since Day One) has been The "stay active, watch what I eat and drink, try not getting sick" Plan.
Anyways, one of my shorts was recently accepted into the Twin Cities Underground Film Festival. The trip there pretty much wiped out whatever savings I had, but the invite was something I could not afford to pass up. I had been to other, bigger, more elite festivals, but this is one was special. This would be my first ever trip to the Midwest (again, I'm an elitist) but much more importantly, my first ever trip to the homeland of my favorite Senator of all time!
He, his beautiful wife and daughter were all killed shortly before Daily Kos was founded, so some younger members here might not remember him. If you were a member of the "Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party" (as he'd often say) during the DLC era, he's impossible to forget. He truly was, as former friend, Norm Coleman, stated in the summer of '96, "The greatest Senator in Minnesota history." Of course this was before Coleman the traitor, the Brutus, the Benedict Arnold, turned his back on this saint of a man, Paul Wellstone, and joined forces with Karl Rove.
We know what a disgustingly despicable sack of shit opportunist Coleman (absolutely sickens me that he is originally from my parts) is, but now is the time to think about and honor Paul instead.
So with that, and with full permission, I'm turning to another fellow New Yorker, "NYPopulist."
NYPopulist put together a very warm tribute to Paul. With all the Ashley Todd stuff (who ironically could probably have been a poster child for the Wellstone Act) and MySpace diary debates going around, however, I feel the need to repost it.
In fact, later in the day, on the 6th anniversary of Paul's death, I saw another rememberance diary but without getting permission from that diarist, Tasini, I've decided to only offer a link.
Sure the Diary Police, with nothing better to do, might go ape shit for reposting. But I don't really give a fuck. If there is one single newbie who just signed on to Daily Kos today, and isn't aware of our greatest Senator, then the repost is worth it.
And if there is one single person who after reading this has decided that the best way to remember Paul is to contribute to Al Franken and to take back Paul's seat, then even better.
First, a little something about the TCUFF. It's located at the Midtown Sheraton, right next door to the Midtown Global Market:
Aside from being a mom-n-pop orgy,
it also features random local artwork like this:
Love that WWWD (What Would Wellstone Do) bumper stick at the end!
And now a cut and paste to the aforementioned diary which you may have missed:
Today We Lost A Hero & Champion, Paul Wellstone
by NYPopulist [Subscribe]
Sat Oct 25, 2008 at 12:10:57 AM EST
Today, October 25th, marks the sixth anniversary of the dreadful day we lost our greatest champion in Congress and my political hero. Never afraid to stand up for what he truly believed in, Paul Wellstone wasn't just Minnesota's senator, he was our senator. Back in 2002, as Congress was considering giving approval to President Bush to send troops to Iraq, Paul was the only senator who was up for re-election that year to vote 'no.' The only one. After doing so, he reportedly told his wife "I just cost myself the election." That was typical Paul Wellstone.
NYPopulist's diary :: ::
Today in 2008, we have a number of opportunities to make Paul smile up in heaven, the first and most obvious of which would be to take back his seat that was usurped by Norm Coleman six years ago. Al Franken is of the Wellstone mold, a proud progressive fighter who stands side by side with Joe Plumber, not Joe CEO. Norm Coleman never would have won that seat if it weren't for the terribly sad circumstances and now we and the voters of Minnesota finally get a chance to take back Paul's seat.
The second opportunity we have to make Paul smile would be to beat Michele Bachmann. In a recent interview Rep. Bachmann compared herself to Wellstone, saying:
"You have to remember I'm from a state where Paul Wellstone was elected during a Republican tide," explained Bachmann, in an interview where she frequently referenced the liberal senator who served Minnesota from his election in 1990 until his death in a plane crash just days before the 2002 election. "There's a great deal of authenticity that came from Paul Wellstone."
As if there wasn't already great reason for us to work to ensure her defeat, her self-comparison to Paul Wellstone makes me want to take the first flight to Minnesota and volunteer for El Tinklenberg. Bachmann is the antithesis of everything that Paul stood for - heck, she was the only member of her state's congressional delegation that voted against the Wellstone Act which required insurance companies to provide coverage for people with mental illness, a cause that Paul was at the very forefront of. The bill finally, years and years after languishing, became law this year, no thanks to Bachmann.
Between those two things and Barack Obama's election in less than two weeks, we have an opportunity to make sure that the very things that Paul fought day-in and day-out for become realized: universal health care, fair and safe working conditions and labor rights, public financing of elections, a clean environment, and the defense of our civil liberties, among many other things.
For those of you who don't know Paul, I leave you with some photos, clips, and a slideshow in hopes of giving you an idea of how honest, true, and great he and his wife were. For those of you who remember him fondly, take this time to say a prayer, and then do what Paul would - organize, organize, organize.
Check back on his link to see the YouTube clips that NYPopulist put up for Paul!
Anyways, hate to write and run but my g/f is going to France tonight (yup, she's an elitist too!) and I'd like to get off the compy now and spend some time with her before she leaves.